It has been years. Honestly, the wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong has turned into a collective fever dream for the gaming community. But when Team Cherry finally drops us into the world of Pharloom, we aren't just looking for more difficult boss fights or tighter platforming. We’re looking for that specific atmosphere. That "great taste of Pharloom" that distinguishes it from the damp, decaying claustrophobia of Hallownest.
If Hallownest was a grave, Pharloom is a cathedral.
The shift in aesthetic isn't just a fresh coat of paint. It’s a fundamental change in how the world feels under your fingers. Where the first game was defined by the "Blue" and "Grey" of a world that had already died, Pharloom is vibrant, golden, and terrifyingly alive. It’s a kingdom defined by "Silk and Song," a pilgrimage upward toward a shining citadel rather than a descent into the dark. That change in direction—moving up instead of down—alters every single interaction you have with the environment.
What Exactly is the Great Taste of Pharloom?
When we talk about the "taste" of a game world, we’re talking about environmental storytelling. Team Cherry, consisting of Ari Gibson and William Pellen, are masters of making you feel the weight of a world's history without a single line of traditional exposition. In Pharloom, the great taste of Pharloom comes from the contrast between its elegance and its cruelty.
You see it in the Moss Grotto. It’s lush. It’s green. It feels like it should be safe, but the enemies here move with a jagged, predatory speed that makes the Forgotten Crossroads look like a playground. This is a world of hunters.
Everything in Pharloom feels sharper. Hornet, our protagonist, is taller and faster than the Knight. To match her, the world had to become more vertical. This isn't the slow, methodical crumbling of a basement; it’s the soaring, jagged peaks of a kingdom that is actively trying to ascend. The "taste" here is metallic, musical, and strangely sophisticated. It’s the sound of bells and the shimmer of silk threads stretched across a chasm.
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The Architecture of a Golden Kingdom
Pharloom is structured differently than Hallownest. In the first game, you were exploring the ruins of a kingdom that had lost its mind to the Infection. In Pharloom, the "great taste" is one of active industry. There are bells. There are mechanisms. There is a sense that the inhabitants are working toward something, even if that something is sinister.
Take the Deep Docks. It’s not just a water level. It’s a transition point that shows how Pharloom handles commerce and transport. The brass tones and the heavy machinery give it a "steampunk-lite" vibe that Hallownest never touched. It feels heavier. It feels more grounded in a strange, insectoid reality.
- Verticality: You aren't just walking left and right. You are climbing. The world is built to be scaled.
- The Silk Element: It’s not just a resource; it’s a physical part of the world. You see it woven into the backgrounds and used as traps.
- The Soundscape: Christopher Larkin’s score for Pharloom leans heavily into strings and brass, moving away from the lonely piano of the first game. This is the "Song" part of Silk and Song.
Why the Contrast Matters
A lot of sequels fail because they just try to do "more" of the same. If Silksong was just another underground cavern with blue light, it would feel stale. The great taste of Pharloom is a deliberate pivot. It’s the difference between a tragedy and an epic.
In Hallownest, you were a ghost wandering a tomb. In Pharloom, Hornet is a prisoner-turned-pilgrim. She has a voice. She has a personality. The world reflects that. It’s more aggressive. The color palette—burning reds, deep golds, and vibrant greens—screams at you. It demands your attention.
I remember seeing the reveal for the Gilded City. It looked like something out of a dream. High-reaching spires, intricate carvings, and a sense of "richness" that Hallownest lacked. That’s the core of it. Pharloom feels expensive. It feels like a kingdom that hasn't quite realized it’s doomed yet, or perhaps a kingdom that believes its own hype so much it thinks it can outrun the end of the world.
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The Mechanics of Flavor
You can’t talk about the great taste of Pharloom without talking about how Hornet actually moves through it. The gameplay and the setting are inseparable. Because Hornet is a creature of silk, the world is designed with threads in mind.
The combat is dance-like. It’s faster. The enemies in Pharloom aren't just shambling husks; they are warriors, cultists, and beasts that use the environment against you. You’ll find yourself parrying off a bell or using a string to zip across a room. This mechanical "crunch" is part of the sensory experience. If Hallownest was a slow burn, Pharloom is a high-speed chase.
Realism in Fantasy World-Building
Team Cherry uses "ecological realism." That’s a fancy way of saying they think about where the bugs live and what they eat. In Pharloom, the environments feel lived-in. The Moss Grotto isn't just a level; it’s a biome. The inhabitants of the Gilded City have a culture centered around music and bells.
This attention to detail is why people spend hundreds of hours analyzing trailers. We aren't just looking for boss hints; we’re looking for glimpses of the world’s "taste." We want to see how the Silk is harvested. We want to know why the bells are so important to the religious structure of the kingdom.
The Lingering Aftertaste
When we finally get to play through the entirety of Silksong, the great taste of Pharloom will likely be defined by its ending. Hallownest's "taste" was one of melancholy and sacrifice. Pharloom feels like it might be heading toward something more explosive.
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The sheer scale of the citadel at the top of the world suggests a climax that is literally higher stakes than anything we’ve seen before. It’s a heights-versus-depths narrative.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you are a fan waiting for the game, or a creator looking to emulate this kind of world-building, keep these things in mind:
- Focus on Contrast: Don't just make a "sequel." Change the primary color palette and the direction of movement. If the first was cold, make the second warm.
- Environmental Narrative: Use objects (like the bells in Pharloom) to represent the central conflict or culture without using dialogue.
- Mechanical Synergy: Ensure the protagonist's movement style (Hornet's silk) is reflected in how the world is built (verticality and threads).
- Audio Identity: A world's "taste" is heavily influenced by its sound. Use different instrumentation to signal a change in the world's status (e.g., strings for Pharloom vs. piano for Hallownest).
- Biome Logic: Every area should feel like it has a purpose within the kingdom’s economy or social structure.
Pharloom isn't just a new map. It is a fundamental shift in the Hollow Knight DNA. It takes the precision and atmosphere of the original and injects it with a sense of urgency and grandeur. That is the great taste of Pharloom—a world that is as beautiful as it is sharp, and as musical as it is deadly.
To truly prepare for the journey, re-watch the original reveal trailer with a focus solely on the background art. Notice how many layers of "stuff" are in every frame. That density is what makes a world feel real. Look for the way light hits the silk threads. That’s where the magic happens. Pay attention to the sound of Hornet's needle hitting a surface—it's a higher pitch than the Knight's nail. It all contributes to a sharper, more refined experience.
Keep an eye on the official Team Cherry blog or their rare social media updates. The wait is long, but if the "taste" we’ve seen so far is any indication, the meal will be worth it.